They actually look the same to me. Also you can get the black nickel ones in the regular aberdeen style from matzuo. There are super sharp also, and alittle cheaper I believe than the EC. We pour alot so when handle and see many different hooks a week. We pour on matzuo, EC, mustad, VMC, diacchi, and EC. And the red hooks and black nickel are my 2 favorites to pour on. The gold hooks not very many people ask for those.